​In 2006, Powis Hughes’ partners found the perfect building to house the firm’s team of chartered surveyors. The 50-year old barn was the right size, in a beautiful and peaceful rural location and is located just a few minutes drive from major road routes.

The partners oversaw the refurbishment of the building to create a suite of modern and comfortable offices that would house their team of specialists. Fitting a lot of insulation helped to reduce heat loss through its solid brick walls, and specifying over-sized radiators ensured that the former cowshed would keep the employees warm despite its high, vaulted ceilings.

​At that time, although the price of oil was on the up, with no gas supply to the barn, there was little choice but to specify an oil-fired boiler.

Cutting Costs

​Over the past 10 years the partners became more committed to ensuring that the firm ran its operations efficiently and sustainably.

“As a small firm we can quickly agree on what we want to achieve and just get it done. We aim to comply with – and where possible exceed – relevant legislation for low carbon and sustainability. We have also invested in renewable technology where we believe that the capital cost will help us to reduce our on-going costs in future years.”

The building’s rural location and long lease enabled Powis Hughes to install a 6kW wind turbine in 2010 and a 4kWp solar array in 2012. Both of these micro-generation technologies have performed well since installation and are providing returns of 10% and 23% respectively.

Encouraged by these results, the partners wanted to reduce their dependence on oil for heating.

​According to Rafe:

​“Despite being only five years old, our boiler was becoming less efficient and increasingly unreliable. We were spending about £2,500 per year on oil – that’s over 11 tonnes of CO2 emissions and spending more each year on maintenance call outs. With a large oil tank to manage we were also aware of the risk of leakage and oil theft. As part of our 2012 annual sustainability review we decided to consider alternative options for space heating.”

Trusted Advice

“When looking for a company we could trust for advice about our heating needs, GHE was an obvious choice,” stated Rafe.

​“GHE had previously handled our solar installation, which went without a hitch. They listened to our needs, researched the solution and looked for ways to help us minimise costs. They were also able to show us a ground-source heat pump installation that had been operating efficiently for many years.”

​After discussing the alternatives with GHE and weighing up the pros and cons, Rafe and partners asked GHE to install a 20kW ground-source heat pump. The ground-source option would give them the highest efficiency – especially at low outside temperatures, and operate silently. A large field adjacent to the barn allowed GHE to design a system that used eight straight trenches of 50m in length, a metre deep and wide.

GHE specified a Dimplex 20kW heat pump that generates sufficient heat output to keep the offices comfortably warm, and is also compatible with a commercial 3-phase electricity supply. The over-sized radiators work well with the heat pump, as it operates at lower temperatures than a conventional boiler.

GHE had the new system up and running before de-commissioning the old heating system – ensuring that Powis Hughes could continue to use its offices during the two-week winter period when the system was installed.

Outstanding Results

​Since installing the heat pump in early 2013, it has generated 29,000 kWh of heat and attracted £1,000 of RHI payments and saved enormously in oil fuel purchases, while consuming less than 10,000 kWh of electricity. Over 20 years, the renewable heat incentive (RHI) payments will amount to over £33,000.

Despite the increased electricity demand as a result of using the heat pump, Powis Hughes has reduced its overall heating costs because it no longer uses oil. In addition to saving money on heating bills, it is still a net exporter of electricity as it produced almost 20,000 kWh from its wind and solar installations over the same period.

Business Benefits

​Apart from needing some help from GHE to start up the heat pump after the summer break, Rafe and his team are finding it easy to live with:

“We set the pump to come on in the early morning so that it’s nice and warm by the time that people turn up for work – the thermostat is set slightly warmer than before – it’s a more comfortable working temperature.”

​Would he recommend other businesses to consider ground-source heating?

“Absolutely, no hesitation,” said Rafe.

​“Regardless of your views on sustainability, it makes business sense for everyone. There are tax benefits and investing in micro-generation is giving us a much better return on our cash than leaving it in the bank! Even if you don’t have a long lease on your building, talk to your landlord and see if they would be willing to share the costs!”

​But financial gains are not the only benefits from Powis Hughes’ sustainability programme, as Rafe explains:

​"So many of our clients have remarked on how much we’ve done. It’s something we’ve become known for and is setting us apart, and has opened up conversations that we wouldn’t have otherwise had.”

​“We’re currently preparing for ISO 14001 certification – the world’s most recognised environmental standard – and our renewable technologies are central to us exceeding our responsibilities. We are also actively considering our next steps in anticipation of our sustainability review.”

About Powis Hughes

Specialist commercial property consultants and chartered surveyors with an in-depth knowledge of the public sector and science facilities, Powis Hughes advises The Crown Estate, English Heritage, The Research Council and several scientific companies and organisations.​www.powis-hughes.com

GHE

​GHE’s team of energy specialists work nationally with businesses, landlords and housing associations, and domestic householders. We advise on energy efficiency, ECO, Green Deal, EPC, and we specify, install and maintain a range of micro-generation technologies including solar PV and thermal, biomass and heat pumps.

Another tip, if your heat pump's fan turns off but the compressor is still running, and you see it smoking up, it is not on fire, this is normal. That's steam, it is in defrost mode to melt ice from the coil. I get a lot of calls on this, trust me it's a good sign.